Battle of Calypso's maelstrom
The Battle of Calypso's maelstrom was an act of war between the armada of the Brethren Court and the armada of the East India Trading Company. It became the deciding battle in Lord Cutler Beckett’s War on Piracy. Pre-battle The decision to go to war against Lord Cutler Beckett and his forces was made by Elizabeth Swann during the fourth meeting of the Brethren Court, during which she was voted as Pirate King. Under her authority, the combined fleets of the Pirate Lords sailed out to assemble off Shipwreck Island, and await the arrival of Beckett's armada, having located Shipwreck Cove through the use of Jack Sparrow's compass, given to Beckett by Will Turner. Beckett's armada arrived in full force; almost three hundred vessels, easily outnumbering the fleet of the Brethren.Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide p92-93: "The Wrath of Calypso" The fleet, led by the Flying Dutchman and with Beckett himself present aboard his flagship, the [[HMS Endeavour|HMS Endeavour]], was an imposing sight. This motivated Jack Sparrow to call for parley. Parley The meeting between the leaders of the fleets was held on a sandbar between both armadas. Elizabeth Swann, Jack Sparrow and Hector Barbossa confronted Culter Beckett, Davy Jones and Will Turner, with both Swann and Beckett vowing to show no mercy to the opposing side. between the two sides on the sandbar.]] During the brief meeting, a trade was made: Sparrow for Turner, to appease Davy Jones. Before Jack was traded, Barbossa took his piece of eight with the help of his monkey, Jack. With the battle lines drawn, the crews returned to their respective flagships. After arriving on the Endeavour, Beckett order his men to ready the fleet for the battle. While Beckett believed otherwise, the pirates had one additional strategy to employ before going to battle. Upon arriving on the Black Pearl, Barbossa forcibly took the very last of the nine pieces of eight from Elizabeth's possession. Releasing Calypso Cutler Beckett ordering his men to ready the fleet.]] Barbossa had collected all nine pieces of eight from the Pirate Lords and prepares to use them as part of a ritual to release the sea goddess Calypso from her human form, as Tia Dalma. Though Elizabeth and Will were reluctant to employ such a risky gambit, Barbossa ignored them, with both himself and Ragetti speaking the words to release Calypso. The incantation was a success, and the goddess grew in size. Barbossa then implored Calypso to spare himself, the Pearl and his crew, and to focus her rage on those who had betrayed her—with Will supplying the name of her betrayer, Davy Jones. The goddess then exploded into millions of crabs, showering the Pearl's crewmen before disappearing into the sea. and the crew of the Black Pearl releasing Calypso.]] The crew recovered from this unexpected event, and prepared for war, though Barbossa believed the cause was now lost. Elizabeth Swann though gave a rousing speech to the men, reminding them that the Brethren would be looking to the Black Pearl to lead the attack. The colors of all pirate vessels present were raised, and the Pearl sailed out to meet the Flying Dutchman in ship-to-ship combat. Convinced of his superiority, Beckett only sent out the Dutchman to do battle. Battle The Wrath of Calypso '' and the Flying Dutchman sailing into the maelstrom.]] Although it appeared the pirates stood little chance of defeating the armada, Elizabeth convinced the pirates that they could stand a chance. The Black Pearl then sailed to battle the Flying Dutchman. The battlefield was leveled somewhat by Calypso herself, who created a great storm over the sea, and formed a maelstrom between the two oncoming ships. Davy Jones assumed control of the Dutchman from the overwhelmed Mercer, while Barbossa matched his manoeuvres from the helm of the Pearl. Both galleons circled the whirlpool, and though the Dutchman initially had the advantage of Bow Cannons, or Chase Guns, eventually the two ships came to bear, trading broadsides, crews preparing for boarding. Mercer, after giving the order to board, was killed by Davy Jones after his guards were caught by cannon fire, and Jones left the helm to reclaim his heart. While the battle raged, Jack Sparrow escaped from the Dutchman's brig and made to flee with the Dead Man's Chest, intent on killing Jones and taking command of the ship himself. However, Jones confronted him, engaging Sparrow in a duel. During the fight, Jack lopped off Jones' tentacle holding the key to the chest, and subsequently shot the chest itself from Jones' grasp while up in the rigging. However Jones had also succeeded in snapping Sparrow's sword in half. for the chest.]] Meanwhile, both the Flying Dutchman and the Black Pearl were locked in battle in the abyss. Onboard the Black Pearl, Will and Elizabeth fought side-by-side, later realizing they might not survive the battle. With this in mind, they asked Barbossa, as captain of the ship, to marry them. Although he was busy fighting the enemy, he decided to wed them. Between dueling East India Trading Company marines and Dutchman crew members, the two pirates were wed, and shared a kiss as the maelstrom worsened. After that, the crew of the Pearl resumed fighting without interruptions. Will then swung over to the Dutchman, intent on freeing his father, Bootstrap Bill Turner, as he'd noticed Jack fighting with Davy Jones. The Death of Davy Jones was stabbed.]] Landing on the deck of the Flying Dutchman, Will was attacked by his father, who had begun to lose his mind due to spending so long aboard the ship. Will stalled him, reminding him of the promise Will had made to free him, pinning him on the ship with his own knife. At this time, Elizabeth boarded the ship and put up a fierce fight with Davy Jones. Jones disarmed her,but Will intervened, stabbing the captain in the chest. Unfortunately, Will had forgotten about Jones having no heart, and he was subsequently knocked to the ground by Jones's crab leg. Seeing Elizabeth and Will look at each other, Jones realized they were in love and threatened to kill Will. At that moment, Jack intervened, holding Jones' heart in his hand, his broken sword poised over it. In response, Jones plunged his sword into Will's chest, plunging Jack into a moral quandary, but worse, mortally wounding his friend. As Elizabeth tried to help Will, Bootstrap Bill suddenly recognized Will, and launched a frenzied attack on Davy Jones. He was pinned down for his own death, though before Jones could act further, he was wracked by a terrible agony. He turned to find Will, with Jack's help, had stabbed his heart before passing away. Uttering Calypso's name in a final lament, Jones toppled over the side of the ship and into the maelstrom. The business of war With the death of their captain, the crew of the Flying Dutchman assembled around Bootstrap Bill, who, to save his son, carved out William's heart to replace Jones' in the Dead Man's Chest. Jack Sparrow fled the ship with Elizabeth and Jack the monkey on a makeshift parasail, and all three were picked up by the Black Pearl as the Dutchman sank into the subsiding maelstrom. With the Dutchman gone and the Pearl isolated in the calming sea, Cutler Beckett ordered the crew of the Endeavour forward, intent on destroying Sparrow and his vessel. Assuming Jack still thought he would honor their deal to let Jack stay free, Beckett silently mused, Despite the contrary advice of his colleagues, Jack intended to face Beckett in a fight to the death. However, the Dutchman suddenly burst from the ocean depths, with Will Turner, returned to life and now commanding a transformed, human crew, at the helm. Beckett could only watch on helplessly as both the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman turned towards the Endeavour, aiming to flank it in a synchronous attack. Though Beckett could have easily ordered his ship to fight back, for some reason he felt he had been outmaneuvered. Realizing that Beckett was in no state to command his troops to fight, Groves gave the order to abandon ship. However, with no options left for himself, Beckett remained aboard his vessel as it was subjected to a devastating double broadside, descending onto the deck as the railing was blown out from behind him. Finally, the powder magazines caught fire, and the entire ship exploded, throwing Beckett's lifeless body into the water. Aftermath Victory Now leaderless, the remaining ships in Beckett's armada turned to flee. As they turned away, the crews of the pirate ships celebrated by cheering and throwing their hats into the air. The war was over. One Day Afterwards, Will freed his father from servitude aboard the Dutchman, but Bootstrap Bill decides to remain with his son on the ship of his own free will. They also discussed the fact that Will has one day to be with Elizabeth, and ten years at sea to ferry souls to the next world. And so, Will and Elizabeth spend their "last day" together on a beach and she promises she will wait for him and keep his heart safe. Will then leaves to do his duty. The Fountain of Youth .]] Jack Sparrow sails to Tortuga to sway Scarlett and Giselle to ride aboard the Black Pearl with him. But as they go to the docks, they discover that Barbossa has made off with the Pearl. Jack then begins his quest to find the Fountain of Youth. Barbossa has the same objective, but when he attempts to show the crew where it is on Sao Feng's charts, he discovers the it has been removed from the charts by Jack. Meanwhile, Jack sails off in a small dinghy, with the map to the Fountain of Youth. Sources *''Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End'' (video game) *''Pirates of the Caribbean: The Complete Visual Guide'' Notes and references Category:Battles